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Nor 525,661. Patented Sept. 4, 1894.

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GIRGULAB KNITTING MACHINE-1 No. 525,661. Patented Sept. 4, 1894.

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ZEPHYRIN LECAISNE, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 525,661, datedSeptember 4, 1894.

Application filed September 8, 1891. Serial No. 405.088- (No model.)Patented in-I'rance May 19, 1891, No- 213,542; in Spain March 14, 1892,No. 13,012; in Belgium April 30, 1892, No. 99,490; in England May 5,1892,1lo. 8,539; in Italy June 4, 1892 LXII, 425, and in Austria-HungaryJanuary 27, 1893, N0- 43 and No. 66.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ZEPHYRIN LEGAISNE, manufacturer, a eitizen'oftheRepublic of France, at present residing at Paris, France,haveinven-ted new and useful Improvements in Circular-Knitting Machines,(for which I have obtained Letters Patent in France, No. 213,542, datedMay 19, 1891; in Belgium, No. 99,490, dated April 30, 1892; in Spain,No. 13,012, dated March 14, 1892; in Italy, No. 425, Vol. LXII, dated June 4, 1892; in Great Britain, No. 8,539, dated May 5, 1892, and inAustria-Hungary, dated January 27, 1893, No. 43 and No. 66;) and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to circular knitting machines adapted for use inthe manufacture of ribbed hosiery, and it consists in the constructionand combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make, use, and constructmy said invention, I will now describe the same in detail, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is asectional elevation of my improved knitting machine, taken on the linem-y of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a partial plan view showing how each weftthread is kept separate from the adjacent knitting thread and the properdistance between the two, there being in practice usually a set of camsfor each set of threads, but the needles are merely shown conventionallyand with only a part illustration of the action of the cams thereon.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts on the drawings.

My new machine is constructed in such a manner that the weft thread m,which is required to be inserted after each course, is laid upon thepreceding course at the time when the needles are at the end of theirtravel, that is to say, when they are at the bottom of the cam-race intheir lowest position. While ascending to pick up the thread n, informing a new course, the needles pass on each side of the weft thread,and when descending again to draw the loops, the said weft thread iscovered thereby. To obtain this result the needle block 0 has the shapeof an annulus,

the cross section of which is a truncated cone,

upon the two sides, or outer beveled faces of which slide the needles ctand b. This annular block 0 is formed in two concentric parts, one ofwhich is supported by the uprights c of the machine frame, while theinner part is supported by a trayor disk at mounted on the pillar Z atthe center of the machine.

To allow the inner cam block f to rotate, the same is mounted uponanti-friction balls or rollers e, which travel in grooves formed in thisblock f, and upon the face of the disk or tray d. As the block rotates,the cams which it carries act upon the butt ends of the needles I), andcause them to take the threads. Upon the block f are fixed the platescarrying the thread bobbins, as well as the thread guides. The externalcam block 9 acts in'a similar manner to the block f, and forms courseson the right side of the fabric. This block carries on its under side acircular rack h, meshing with a pinion 'i, by which a rotary motion isimparted to the loom, and is connected to the block f by means ofstirrups j, which, while connecting the two blocks f and g, in such amanner as to cause the block f to follow the block g, in its rotarymotion, yet assists in holding the block g in a horizontal position.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The blocks f and g, beingset in rotation by the pinion i, the needles engaged at their butt endsare subjected to the influence of the cams and ascend and descend toform meshes; when, during this motion, the needles have returned intothe body of the loom the weft thread which is required to be inserted inthe fabric is placed upon the course just formed. As the needles ascendto form a fresh course they pass on each side of the weft thread and thenew course is formed above the same, and when the needles descend todraw the meshes, the weft thread is caught beneath the latter and thesame op eration takes place around the whole periph cry of the 100m.

It will be obvious that I may insert in the fabric a weft of any desiredthickness, according to the kind of fabric required.

What I claim is- In a circular knitting machine, the combi- 5 nation ofthe annular stationary needle-block c composed of two concentric partsand having the form of a truncated cone in vertical cross-section, theneedles a, b arranged on the opposite beveled faces of said block, thein- :o ner and outer ring-shaped cam-blocksf and g I connected by aseries of stirrups and each provided with a cam race engaging the buttsof the needles, gearing for rotating the cam blocks, and thread guidesfor a knitting thread and a weft thread, substantially as shown 15 anddescribed.

- ZEPHYRIN LEOAISNE. Witnesses:

RoBT. M. HOOPER, O. M. LAFONTAIN.

